Compassionate Releases of Federal Prisoners Surged During the Pandemic
The record number of reduced sentences still represented a tiny share of the federal prison population.
War on Drugs
Enforcing Abortion Bans Is Much Harder Than Passing Them
The experience in Texas shows that workarounds pose daunting obstacles to such laws.
Man With No Criminal History Gets 5-Year Sentence for Selling Weed
The federal mandatory minimum didn't leave many options.
Prosecutor Extorts $300,000 Out of Alleged Drug Dealer by Threatening His Entire Family With Charges
Patrick Card's story is a case study in how the state uses civil forfeiture to try to coerce plea bargains.
A Jury Concludes That Blindly Firing 10 Rounds Into Breonna Taylor's Apartment Was Not 'Wanton Endangerment'
Brett Hankison's acquittal shows how difficult it is to hold cops accountable for abusing their power.
Several Justices Seem Dismayed at the Idea That Doctors Can Be Accidentally Guilty of Drug Trafficking
The Supreme Court is considering what standard should apply to prescribers accused of violating the Controlled Substances Act.
The Stossel State of the Union
"If I do my job right, you should barely know I'm here."
SCOTUS Needs to Clarify the Line Between Doctors and Drug Dealers
Patients suffer when physicians who prescribe opioids in good faith can face decades in prison.
Criminal Justice Campaign Promises Absent From Biden's State of the Union Speech
More than a year into the Biden administration, promises to expand clemency, decriminalize marijuana, and end solitary confinement and the federal death penalty remain unfulfilled.
All But 2 Utah Legislators Just Voted to Investigate the Psychotherapeutic Potential of Psychedelics
The bill is the latest sign of strange new respect for drugs that were once routinely depicted as menaces to body and soul.
Dopesick
The new Hulu miniseries promotes pernicious misconceptions about opioids, addiction, and pain treatment.
Brett Hankison Is Not the Only Cop Who Acted Recklessly the Night Breonna Taylor Was Killed
The former detective's trial should not obscure the responsibility of the drug warriors who authorized, planned, and executed the deadly raid.
Missouri Marijuana Legalization Bill Aims High but Expectations Remain Low
Previous efforts languished in committees.
Dallas Police Seized an Airline Passenger's Cash. New Information Only Makes Their Case Weaker.
Police seized more than $100,000 in cash from a 25-year-old Chicago woman for not correctly describing what her suitcase looked like.
No, California Shouldn't Keep Crazy High Marijuana Taxes 'For the Children'
Child care workers benefit from state subsidies. They’re fighting against possible cuts by encouraging regressive taxes that fuel a new drug war.
Two Courts Debunk Persistent Opioid Myths
Both rulings emphasized that opioids have legitimate medical uses and concluded that drug companies could not be held responsible for abuse of their products.
How Drug Cartels and Federal Import Restrictions May Cancel Your Guacamole Plans
Almost all of America’s avocados come from a single Mexican state. A threatening message threw it into disarray.
Olympic Athletes Can Take Drugs so Long as They Also Get an Unfair Advantage
Allowing Kamila Valieva to compete evokes memories of Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended from competition for using marijuana.
The ATF Suggests You Call SWAT Raids on Your Exes for Valentine's Day
Ever wonder where people get the idea that police are thin-skinned bullies?
When Is Drinking Ayahuasca a Religious Experience?
It should not matter whether would-be ayahuasca drinkers sincerely believe in shamanism or simply believe they will derive mental health benefits from the experience.
Pot Won't Be Advertised at Super Bowl, Though Players Will Probably Use It After
A proposed commercial by dispensary-locator company Weedmaps was sacked by NFL and NBC suits.
How California Deputies Became Highway Robbers
San Bernardino County deputies stopped the same armored-car driver twice and took nearly $1.1 million in cash owned by legal marijuana dispensaries.
Psychedelic Drugs Win Growing Respect
Not only won’t they blow your mind, but they may even save it (sometimes legally).
The CDC's New Pain Treatment Advice Aims To Correct the Damage Done by the 2016 Version
The proposed guidelines emphasize the need for individualized treatment and collaboration with patients.
A California Sheriff Remains Free To Rob Armored Cars Carrying Money From State-Licensed Marijuana Businesses
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the evidence of legal violations is insufficient at this point.
Michael K. Williams' Death Sparks Charges Against Drug Dealers
The actor's overdose death was a tragedy, but overzealous prosecution of the dealers who sold him the drugs will only make the problem worse.
Now That Pot-Averse Conservatives Are Openly Defying the Federal Marijuana Ban, What Excuse Does Congress Have for Maintaining It?
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves' grudging support for medical marijuana speaks volumes about the erosion of support for prohibition.
West Virginia Mulls New Criminal Penalties for Imaginary Threat of Police Fentanyl Exposure
A medical myth that responders can overdose by touching or inhaling synthetic opioids may lead to harsher jail sentences.
Seattle and Detroit Move Toward Decriminalizing Psychedelics
Though state laws in both places have not yet adapted, consumers of "entheogenic" plants and fungi are now less likely to be arrested and prosecuted in the two cities.
Kansas and California Cops Used Civil Forfeiture to Stage Armored Car Heists, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses
The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.
Gun Control Is Just as Racist as Drug Control
Both public safety strategies are rooted in bigotry and disproportionately harm African Americans.
Her Husband Died After Police Hogtied Him for 90 Minutes. Could She Ever Hold Them Accountable?
Kelli Goode's civil suit is a case study in how difficult it can be to get state actors to take responsibility when they allegedly infringe on someone's rights.
Michael Shellenberger: How Progressives Ruined American Cities
The San Fransicko author on fighting homelessness and mental illnesses without shredding civil liberties.
California Escalates Its War on the Marijuana Black Market
A new 2022 law will punish anybody “aiding and abetting” unlicensed dealers. It will most certainly harm low-level workers.
Colorado Gov. Polis Commutes 110-Year Sentence for Trucker in Deadly Crash, Pardons Hundreds of Marijuana Convictions
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos faced harsh punishment under the state’s mandatory minimum sentences for insisting on the right to a trial.
If Chuck Schumer Supports Marijuana Legalization, Why Did He Nix a Bill That Would Have Helped Pot Businesses Use Banks?
Stranger still, the leading drug policy reform organization supported Schumer's obstruction.
In 2021, Qualified Immunity Reform Died a Slow, Painful Death
Despite bipartisan momentum at the federal level, Congress still couldn't get anything over the finish line.
Why the Pandemic Will End Only When We Demand It's Over
Ronald Bailey and Jacob Sullum on the future of COVID-19, the politicization of science, the failure of mandates, and how to talk with anti-vaxxers.
The Year's Highlights in Blame Shifting
Politicians and cops found creative ways to dodge responsibility in 2021.
Californians Learn That Raising Taxes on Marijuana Fuels Black Markets for Drugs
If only they would apply that lesson to other goods and services.
Biden Doubles Down on a Lethal Anti-Drug Strategy
Prohibition has driven opioid-related deaths to record levels.
Mail-Order Abortion Pills, Now Officially Authorized by the FDA, Pose an Insoluble Problem for Legislators Who Want To Ban the Procedure
Federal regulators have permanently lifted a requirement that mifepristone be dispensed in person.
Tennessee Governor Announces Fast-Track Clemency Process for People Serving Outdated Drug-Free School Zone Sentences
Following a 2017 Reason investigation, Tennessee reformed its harsh drug-free school zone laws. But hundreds were left in prison.
The FDA Still Hasn't Approved 2 New Drugs That Could Help End the Pandemic
Bureaucratic foot-dragging is costing lives.
